Our good friends the Hills have an amazing mountain house (called Montana) about an hour from here. Last weekend was the Christ Church college retreat and (all by myself) I packed up the girls and the dog and headed up for the day on Saturday. Ila has recently become interested in "bear facts" (her favorite mealtime conversation), so when she saw the real-life baby black bear they had mounted on the wall (or actually peering out from the second floor loft), her excitement was endless. She would go up to Mr. Hill or Mrs. Hill and ask them "hey why is that bear there?" or "is that bear real?" By the end of the day she was saying things like "Miss Kemp said her fairy godmother shot the bear and that's why it's killed." She is STILL asking about it. (It really had been shot on their property). Anyway, it was an awesome day for Ila to be around people she is most comfortable with (college-aged) and it was most definitely the best day of Sydney's life. She chased baseballs, frisbees, and footballs back and forth, followed people on walks down to the river, swam in the river, and even went on a hayride. Susannah slept the whole time but also went for a walk down to the river in her sling. There is something so magical about being in a space that enormous and seeing nothing but mountains, fields, and trees. When can we go back?
Sydney never got tired
Ila, Charlie Zahl, and Lex
Heading to the river
Tommy taking Ila and Mary Boyce for a tractor ride
I love how Ila fits right in with the college girls
Notice Sydney on the hayride
